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40 Unusual Laws in History

Tim Flight November 14, 2019 27 min

Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 - Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — A donkey appears in court during the trial of Bill Burns, prosecuted for animal cruelty in 1822, in a painting by P. Mathews, 1838. Wikimedia Commons

24. The UK Parliament banned celebrating Christmas in 1647

The famous ‘warts and all’ portrait of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, after Samuel Cooper’s original, London, 1656. Wikimedia Commons

During the English Civil War, the piously-Puritan Parliament fought against the self-indulgent King Charles I. Charles loved the finer things in life and, worst of all, had a Catholic wife! The Puritans wanted to save the soul of the country, and when Charles refused to listen to them, war erupted. Amongst the miserable anti-fun measures they passed was a fast on Christmas Day 1642. 5 years later, Parliament banned celebrating Christmas altogether. The Puritans wanted people to spend Christmas Day in solemn prayer and abstinence, not having fun. Fun-loving Charles II got rid of the rotten law in 1660.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk

40 Unusual Laws in History

24. The UK Parliament banned celebrating Christmas in 1647

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